Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi (L) meets with Belgium s King Philippe in Brussels, 16 February 2022. Egyptian Presidency
King Philippe praised Egypt’s efforts to combat irregular migration and terrorism, achieve coexistence between religions, and support peaceful solutions to the ongoing crises in the region, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said.
Egypt’s efforts to combat terrorist groups over the past years have contributed to achieving security and stability in the region as well as Europe, the king said.
Philippe added that Egypt has been able to stop irregular migration from its lands to Europe, with officials affirming that no ship carrying irregular migrants has been allowed to leave Egypt’s coasts since 2016.
King Philippe stressed Belgium’s keenness to develop the historic relations with Egypt in all fields in light of Egypt’s current developmental progress, Rady said.
El-Sisi praised Egyptian-Belgian relations and affirmed that Egypt looks forward to developing these relations on the economic and commercial levels by maximising Belgian investments in Egypt.
El-Sisi arrived on Tuesday in the Belgian capital, where he is scheduled to attend the Sixth European Union-African Union Summit on Thursday and also hold talks with a number of heads of state and government on boosting bilateral ties and consultation on various regional and international issues.
El-Sisi also met with President of the European Council Charles Michel on Wednesday, where they agreed on the necessity of enhancing consultation on Libya and cooperation between Egypt and the EU.
Egypt looks forward to enhancing cooperation with the EU in countering terrorism and extremism with a comprehensive approach that addresses the main roots of these phenomena, El-Sisi told Michel.
During his participation in the sixth EU-AU summit, El-Sisi will focus on various topics of concern to African nations, especially international efforts to facilitate these countries’ integration into the global economy, the spokesman said.
El-Sisi will also highlight the necessity to provide effective support to African countries in achieving the United Nations’ 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs), transfer technology to developing countries, empower them to rely on renewable energy sources, and boost investments in them.
Furthermore, the president will discuss Egypt’s scheduled hosting of the 27th UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27) in November and the country’s efforts to achieve balanced and implementable outcomes during the event.
El-Sisi is also expected to focus on the need to formulate a common vision to support and finance Africa during the coronavirus pandemic while facilitating access to and distributing equitably various technologies related to the pandemic, especially with regard to vaccine production, said Rady.
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